Planting machine



Nov. 29, 1955 G. N. PETTERSEN PLANTING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 10, 1950 INVENTOR GUNNAR NIMRODPETTERSEN U W M v 4111/ A TTOR/VEVS.

PLANTING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 10, 1950 A TTOR/VE 1 5.

Nov. 29, 1955 a. N. PETTERSEN PLANTING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 10, 1950 N VENTURE km & mm i a a WW *N v 3 MW 2 g 22 2 i E mw & &

G UNNAR NIMROD PETTERSEN.

ATTORNEYS.

PLANTEING MACHINE Gunnar Nimrod Pettersen, Lie, near Haldcn, Norway Application May 10, 1950, Serial No. 161,134 Claims priority, application Norway May 31, 1949 1 Claim. (Cl. 1113) The invention relates to a machine which is adapted for transplanting young plants such as roots, etc. when driving over the field, and which is safe in operation, easy to operate and of rugged design and may be manufactured at a reasonable cost.

The features of the invention as well as further advantages thereof will be understood from the following specification read in connection with the drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the machine, and in which Fig. l is a plan view of the machine,

Fig. 2 is a side View of the machine viewed from the left and in longitudinal section substantially along the line 2-2 in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the lower part of the machine with the carriage frame omitted, some parts such as the belt supporting wheel structure and packing wheels being shOWn in section.

States Patent C Fig. 4 is a sectional detail view on a larger scale taken along the line 4-4 in Fig. 1,

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side view of one of the belt carrying wheel portions and showing the mounting of movable belt supporting pieces thereon; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view showing certain of the parts of Fig. 4, but illustrating in detail the way in which the movable belt-supporting pieces are operated.

Although the invention may well be used in connection with a transplanting machine having its own drive, it is primarily intended to be carried out in the manner that the machine itself is made without driving motor and adapted to be pulled over the'field, as for example, by a tractor.

Accordingly the machine as shown in the drawings has a substantially rectangular carriage frame 1 of flat iron which at the front is provided with coupling means 2 for connection to a tractor, and which on one side carries a lateral bracket 3 bolted thereto, on which there is journalled a stabilizing wheel 4, the axis of which extends horizontally and substantially in the same transverse vertical plane as a pair of fixed coaxial stub shafts 5 and 6 (Fig. 3) which project inwards from either side of the frame 1. Rotatably mounted on the shafts 5 and 6 are a pair of packing wheels 7 and 8 constructed as spoke wheels having rims which are made conical and converging towards each other, but which in their outermost portions are cylindrical so as to roll steadily on the road when driving to and from the field. At the rear three seats 9, 9, and 9" are attached to the carriage frame 1 and so positioned that from any of them access can easily be had to the top of the machine at the rear end. It will be seen that with this arrangement the operators resting on the seats will weigh heavily upon the wheels 7 and 8 which support the carriage frame.

Immediately inside the carriage frame 1 a pair of frame portions 11 and 12 are carried on shafts 5 and 6 and extend forward therefrom. The frame portions 11 and 12 are interconnected at their forward extremities by a bolt 13 and carry a centrally located bow-formed plow 15 by means of lugs 14. By means of links 16, 17 the supporting frame 11 to 13 is supported near its front end by two arms 18, 19 fixed on a shaft 20, which is journalled in the carriage frame 1 adjacent the front end of the latter. Fixed on the shaft 20 is also a manipulating arm 21 which is formed with a handle and carries a pin which may be engaged in any of a series of notches in a locking arm 22 pivoted at the inside of the carriage frame 1. Thus, by this arrangement it is possible to adjust the angular position of the supporting frame with respect to the carriage frame in the longitudinal vertical plane and hence to adjust the depth of the plow 15 in the ground.

The side portions of the plow 15 have rearward extensions 23 and 24 in the form of a pair of wings, the bottom edges of which have an upward slope and which project a distance into the space between the packing wheels 7 and 8 immediately inside the latter. Above the plow 15 substantially at the rear extremity of the plowing portion thereof, there is journalled in the frame portions 11 and 12 a shaft 25 which on one end carries a sprocket wheel 26 which by a sprocket chain 27 is connected to a sprocket wheel 28 fixed on the boss of the packing wheel 7. Further, a belt supporting wheel structure is provided comprising a pair of wheel discs 29 and 30 which are fixed on the shaft 25 by set screws 29, 30' between the frame portions 11 and 12. The sprocket wheel 26 is rotatably mounted on the shaft 25 (see Fig. 4), but prevented from axial displacement by a screw 31 engaging an annular groove in the shaft. On its inner side the sprocket wheel 26 has projections 32 which can be engaged by a transverse pin 33 projecting from a central rod 34 through slots 33' in the shaft 25 on both sides. The rod 34 projects through the end of the shaft and is by means of an outwardly acting compression spring 35 held in engagement with the frame 1 in which it fits into a groove 36 in frame member 1. In the position shown in which the rod 34 projects into the groove 36, the pin 33 engages the projections 32, whereby the shaft 25 is entrained in the rotation of the sprocket wheel 26 when the machine is rolling on the packing wheels. If, on the contrary, the front end of the supporting frame 11 to 13 is lifted by means of the arm 21 to its upper position in which the plow 15 is removed from the ground, the extremity of the rod 34 is pushed inwards by a sloping surface 36 at the upper end of the groove 36, so that the pin 33 is moved out of the path of the projections 32 and the rotation of the shaft 25 ceases. It will therefore be seen that disconnection of the shaft can be effected with raising of the supporting frame, whereas the connection which is effected by again lowering the supporting frame, whereby the pin 33 is again moved into the path of the projections 32, can take place without overcoming any substantial resistance and therefore can be effected safely by the spring 35.

A member 37 of flat cross section and extending substantially in a vertical longitudinal plane, projects at the front into the space between the wheel discs 29 and 30 from the rear adjacent the left disc 30 and has its forward extremity formed as a bearing sleeve 38 surrounding the shaft 25. From a point adjacent the rear edges of the wheel discs the member 37 has an upward slope and at the rear on its bottom side it is formed with a branch or arm 39 which is formed with a handle 40 at its rear end and which handle is guided vertically between the upright portions 41 and 42 of a U-shaped frame member welded within the rear transverse portion of the carriage frame 1. At the top the portions 41 and 42 are connected by a bolt 43 preventing the arm 39 from jumping out, and they have each a series of holes/l4 which may be arranged along a line, and through which a bolt may be inserted under and for supporting the arm 39 at different levels when the machine is operating, and further up a hole 45 in which this bolt can be placed to keep the arm 39 lifted when the machine is not in operation. Adjustment of member 37 and handle 40 by these means, adjusts the height of all portions carried by member 37 with respect to other parts of the machine, thereby varying the angle of inclination of the lower belt stretches with respect to the earth, with consequent adjustment of the degree of stretching of the deposited plants as hereinafter explained.

To hold the plants during the planting operation a pair of belts 46 and 47 are used which are each passed over a couple of freely rotating, rollers 48 and 49, and 50 and 51, respectively, and over one of the belt tracks (hereinafter described) on the wheel discs 29, 30. The. rollers 48 and 49 for the belt 46 are rotatably mounted on an upwardly projecting bracket 53 and a downwardly projecting bracket 54, respectively, on the member 37 and in the same longiudinal vertical plane and have circumferential guiding flanges on the right hand side substantially flush with the inner surface of the righ wheel disc 29. The rollers 50 and 51 are rotatably mounted on an upwardly projecting bracket 55 on the member 37 and a downwardly projecting bracket 56 on. the; branch 39, respectively, and are likewise located substantially in a common longitudinal vertical plane and have guiding flanges on the left hand side substantially in alignment with the inner surface of the left wheel disc 30. The belt 46 is somewhat shorter than the belt 47, the rollers 48 and 49 being placed at a distance ahead of the rollers 50 and 51 respectively. The belts may conveniently be of flat rectangular cross section so that they run steadily without twisting and may have such a width that when running edge to edge they nearly bridge the space between the wheel discs 29 and 30.

The belt tracks of the wheel discs are composed of supporting pieces 57 and 58 respectively, rockably mounted on radial pivots in openings equally spaced around the periphery of the wheel discs at a short distance from the outer edge. During about of a revolution of the wheel they adopt an inwardly projecting position as shown in Fig. 3 and at the bottom in the Figures 2 and 4, in which they can support the belt courses 46 and 47 respectively. But when arriving substantially at the rearmost point of their path they abut against the bottom side of the mounting member 37 and a projection 59 on the same respectively, whereby they are turned out to a position in which they extend along the wheel discs as shown at the top in the Figures 2 and 4. After the Wheel discs have turned further about A of a revolution, i. e. substantially at the uppermost point of the wheel, they are again turned inwards into belt supporting position by engagement of a projecting corner of the supporting pieces with arcuate guiding members 60 and 61, respectively, attached to the supporting frame 11, 12 and extending adjacent the outer sides of the wheel discs along the openings therein. If desired, the supporting pieces may be provided with underlying spring washers (Fig. 5) in order to be held safely in the desired positions.

For the sprocket chain drive 26, 27, 28 the ratio of transmission is so chosen that the speed of the belt tracks as nearly as possible will be equal to the driving speed of the machine, so that the supporting pieces 57 and 58 are practically at rest with respect to the ground in their lowermost positions. The upper sides of the belt tracks on the rollers 48 and 50 are located substantially in a common tangential plane to the upper side of the belt tracks, and the bottom side of the belt tracks of the rollers 49 and 51 are located substantially in a common tangential plane to the bottom side of the belt tracks, so that the belts are running edge to edge on their way to and from the wheel discs as well as on their way around the front side of the latter. For adjusting the tension of the belts the brackets 53 and 55 are adjustable independently' of each other along the member 37 in a direction parallel to the said upper tangential plane, so that adjustment can take place without altering the direction of the belt portions between the rollers 48 and 50 and the wheel discs 29, 30.

Insertion of the plants is effected by gripping one plant at a time by the root and inserting it between the belts from the rear at the roller 48 where the belts meet. For guiding the plant into position against the belt 47 a shield 62 is provided which extends along the rear and top side of the roller 48 outside the belt track thereof and is inclined outwards in the rearward direction. The shield 62 is carried on the rear extremity of a rod 63 which is fixed to the boss of the bracket 53 and extends forwardly parallel to the upper runs of the belts, where its front end is loosely supported in an arm 64 on the arcuate guiding member (Fig. 2). On the rod 63 is slidably mounted a pointer 65 which is placed at a distance from the point of insertion equal to the desired spacing of the plants in question in theground.

It is a matter of importance to determine how closely together the belts should be located at the point of insertion. For thin plants it is desirable to have the belts very close in order that they may hold the plant securely. However, when dealing with larger plants, especially if they are brittle, there ought to be a certain clearance in order to avoid an injurious shearing effect by the insertion. For controlling this, the bearing of the roller 50 may conveniently engage the boss of the bracket 55 with screw threads and be rotatable by means of a hand Wheel 66 after loosening a set screw 66 (Fig. 1), for lateral adjustment of the roller.

For guiding the pendent plants into the space between the wheel discs 29 and 30 a pair of guiding shields 67 and 68 (Fig. 1) fixed at their lower portions by a bolt 37' to the projection 59 and the member 37, respectively (Fig. 3) are provided along the rear edges of the discs at the top and inclined inwards towards the Wheel discs.

In front of the roller 49 a combined shield and scraper 69 is provided which is attached to the boss on the bracket 54 by means of an arm 70, which may be passed through a slot 70' in the wing 23. The rear edge of the combined shield and scraper 69 projects past the belt track of the roller with a slight clearance on the left hand side, and the forward edge of. the combined shield and scraper is bent to the right in front of the roller and inclined somewhat backwards in the upward direction, as shown in Fig. 3. The bottom edge of the combined shield and scraper 69 is located at a short distance above the belts. However, on its inner side. the combined shield and scraper 69 is formed with a scraper 71 (see Fig. 2) engaging both the upper side of the belt 46 ahead of the point where it arrives at the roller, and the belt track of the roller, in order to clean both of adhering soil.

A similar combined shield and scraper 72 with supporting arm 73 and scraper 74 is placed in front of the roller 51 and fixed to the bracket 56 and extends to the right of this roller.

When the work shall begin, the front end of the supporting frame is adjusted by means of the arm 21 and locking arm 22 to a suitable level, so as to make the plow work at the depth which is desired, having regard to soil conditions, the length of the roots of the plants etc., and the mounting member 37, 59 is adjusted by means of a bolt in a selected one of holes 44, to an angular position which affords a slight upward slope of the belt portions between the wheel discs 29, 3d and the rollers 49 and 51. Further, the roller 50 is adjusted laterally to a position affording the desired grip on the plants in question between the belts at the point of insertion, and the pointer 65 is adjusted to the proper spacing of the plants. Then, while driving, the operators, who are resting on the seats 9, 9, and 9" and may have a conveniently accessible stock of plants either in one box each or in a common box at the rear of the carriage frame, alternately take one plant at a time and insert it between the belts along the shield 62 each time the respective preceding plant has arrived at the pointer 65. While held by the belts 46 and 47, which by the rotation of the wheel discs are pulled forward parallel to each other from the point of insertion, the plants are by means of the shields 67 and 68, guided into the space between the wheel discs from behind at the top, where the belt supporting pieces 57, 58 are turned out so that they permit the plants to enter the space between the discs. Not until this has safely taken place, i. e. adjacent the point of arrival of the belts at the top of the wheel discs, are the belt supporting pieces turned into supporting positions by abutting against the guiding arcs 60 and 61. This inward turning may take place without injuring the plants, the belt supporting pieces being made so short that they do not contact each other. Besides, if desired, they may be arranged angularly staggered with respect to each other on the two discs. Then the plants continue around the front side of the wheel discs to the bottom side thereof, and when doing this they are turned to upright positions and enter the space Within the plow 15. On further forward movement of the machine they remain erect between the rearwardly moving portions of the belts between the wheel discs and the roller 49, and

' while substantially stationary relative to the ground, soil,

which has been plowed up to both sides by the plow 15, starts sliding inwards around the roots under the wings 23 and 24. Because of the slight upward slope of these rearwardly moving portions of the belts the roots of the plants are at the same time stretched somewhat, whereby they are straightened. When the plants appreach the combined shield and scraper 69, the sloping front of the latter engages the plants from below on the right hand side and deflects or tilts them to the left, so that by means of the combined shield and scraper and the wing 24 they are guided into the space between the roller 49 and the packing wheel 8, while at the same time the packing wheels 7 and 8 exert a rolling effect on the soil, so as to firmly compress the soil around the roots of the plants. When thereafter the belt 46 leaves the belt 47 behind the roller 49, the plants are left with their roots in the compressed soil, whereafter the combined shield and scraper 72 tilts the plants to the right, so that they also get clear of the roller 51 and finally remain standing freely in the ground behind the machine.

If by an accident a stone or other hindrance should come under the belts 46 and 47 while they are resting on the ground, this will not occasion stopping or damage, since the whole mounting member 37, 39 with the rollers mounted thereon may rock freely upwards about the shaft 25, thereby passing over the obstacle.

When the machine is to be turned or driven away from the field, the arm 21 is placed in a lifted position, so that the plow comes clear of the ground, the rotational drive of the planting wheel being thereby disconnected, and, if desired, also the mounting member with the rollers may be lifted by means of the handle 40 and supported in the lifted position by placing the bolt in the hole 45.

With the construction shown, the machine has proved safe in operation even under severe conditions with soaked soil and for a great variety of plant species, and is easy to operate, since the point of insertion is easily accessible and it is convenient to hold the plants by the root when inserting them, whereby the plants are also straightened beforehand in a favorable manner. The machine can be operated at high speed, since with a structure for planting one row at a time like that'shown, there is room for three persons for feeding the machine, and a heavy rolling effect can be obtained while favorably utilizing the weight of the machine and the operators. By the arrangement of belt tracks and packing wheels in vertical longitudinal planes the external width of the unit measured over the carriage frame may be made less than the shortest row spacing normally used, which easily permits the combination of more units, which may often be desirable. Firstly, an increase of the production capacity might then be obtained, even with two operators for each unit instead of three, and secondly, it may be of great importance to have the rows exactly parallel two by two in order to facilitate the subsequent work with weeding machines, which are mostly constructed for two rows.

I claim:

A machine for setting plants which comprises a longitudinally extending carriage supported for movement on ground-engaging wheel means having a substantially horizontal transverse axis of rotation, a wheel structure and plow supported from said carriage forwardly of said wheel means with the plow in advance of the wheel structure, said wheel structure having an axis of rotation generally parallel to the axis of said wheel means, a drive connection between said wheel means and said wheel structure, a pair of coacting belt loops trained around the front of said wheel structure, a supporting member supported from said carriage and extending substantially rearwardly of the axis of rotation of said wheel structure, upper and lower rollers carried by said supporting member aligned with said wheel structure to support said belt loops to travel in adjacent vertical planes, said belt lops having upper stretches travelling side by side forwardly from a point for insertion of plants and lower stretches of different lengths travelling rearwardly side by side adjacent the ground to a point of separation of the belt loops for deposit of plants, and fixed guiding members mounted on said supporting member respectively in front of each of said lower rollers, and shaped to tilt the plantes engaged by said lower stretches laterally inward from each side respectively, said Wheel means being in the form of a pair of soil packing wheels and said point of separation of the belt loops being located between said packing wheels,

whereby soil is packed about the roots of plants as they are deposited.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 92,961 Holbert July 27, 1869 266,500 Nelf Oct. 24, 1882 285,293 McVicker Sept. 18, 1883 326,873 Jones Sept. 22, 1885 342,490 Zimmerman May 25, 1886 345,479 Bradley July 13, 1886 491,597 Sailer Feb. 14, 1893 653,625 Morgan July 10, 1900 965,980 Autry Aug. 2, 1910 1,059,316 Reavis Apr. 15, 1913 1,111,602 McNutt Sept. 22, 1914 1,322,389 Wyckoif Nov. 18, 1919 1,514,185 Van Houten Nov. 4, 1924 1,527,747 Probst Feb. 24, 1925 1,765,467 Vollink June 24, 1930 1,802,273 Richards et a1. Apr. 21, 1931 2,076,493 Beardsley Apr. 6, 1937 2,145,771 McCartney Jan. 31, 1939 2,348,787 Cordes May 16, 1944 2,609,767 Tapp et a1 Sept. 9, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 627,325 Great Britain Aug. 8, 1949 935,161 France May 16, 1949 

